This is probably one of my favorite looks that we’ve ever shot. It is so very me! If anyone knows me, then you know that I am a lover of all things black. Don’t get me wrong, I love color, as seen in this post. BUT, something about the color black just makes a girl feel confident as heck. I think that my love of the color comes from my mom, whose closet is just varying shades of black shirts and pants. Gotta love her!!

Now, let’s talk about confidence. There are so many quotes and stories told about how the most beautiful feature that any woman could have is confidence, and I completely agree. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to grow more and more confident in myself. When I was in high school, I was incredibly shy and insecure. I didn’t believe in myself, and I didn’t know who I was as a person. This is a dangerous situation to be in, because if you don’t know who you are, it’s hard to set your moral boundaries. You might find yourself bending to the wills of those around you, or changing yourself depending on the time and place you found yourself in. I was guilty of this up until I got into college. I think it was mostly an attempt to fit in and be ‘cool’. I’ve always been a huge people pleaser, and this was just a continuation of that.

Once I started college, I kind of decided not to let people walk all over me anymore. I didn’t want to be so painfully shy anymore, so I did the most logical thing I could think of: joined a sorority. To me, sorority recruitment sounded like the perfect (or most painful) way to break me out of my shell. And honestly, I think it worked. Talking to 40+ girls in a given day will do that to you! I just pretended to be the most bubbly person I could muster, and I think I fooled them 😉

I came home for the first time since moving to Arkansas, and my mom told me I was acting like a whole new person – in a good way! My first summer after freshman year, all anyone in my family could talk about was how happy I seemed. Of course, a lot of this could be chalked up the best friends I had made while at school, but it was mainly from within. I had finally learned to accept, and appreciate, who I was.

When Breana & I started to talk seriously about starting the blog, the old feelings of insecurity came back with a vengeance. “What if everyone makes fun of it? What if I don’t actually dress as cute as my mom says I do?” were thoughts that frequently ran through my head. It’s terrifying to put your thoughts out into the world for everyone to see. Granted, the majority of our posts are just talking about shoes and dresses and lipsticks, but I still feel as if I’m baring my soul to the world.

This was all of really long winded way of saying – be yourself. Don’t let the opinions of other keep you from doing something that you’re passionate about. And if everything else fails, just fake it till you make it!